2011-01-28
Good Morning Dear Ones,
We’ve been examining how God obligates Himself to sinners-something which is a rather amazing blessing. It would be much easier for Him to simply condemn sinners and give up on them, but that’s not His way. Understanding this conundrum means viewing why God allows adversity in our lives. So far, we’ve learned that there is such a thing as the Refiner’s fire. This is a metaphor relating to the fact that a sample of impure mixed metals can be separated by subjecting this mixture to different temperatures. Each pure metal has its own melting point, thus enabling separation to be possible. That’s how silver and gold are separated from their impurities. Too much fire can destroy even a precious metal. God knows exactly how much of a challenge is necessary for each person, in each situation. JOB 23: 10 are Job’s words about his belief that we are purified through testing. “Yet God knows every step I take; if He tests me, He will find me pure.” Most of us know that Job was sorely tested in connection to a bet that the devil made with God. Before the testing is over, Job enters into a series of discussions with his friends, but his friends see everything as a matter of reward and punishment. Job tries to convince them that God is much more compassionate and sophisticated than that. The Psalmist, in PS 139: 23-24, also understands that God tests us to find out the state of our faith in Him. “Examine me, O God, and know my mind; test me, and discover my thoughts. Find out if there is any evil in me and guide me in the everlasting way.” The very fact that He prays such a thing speaks well for his confidence in our Lord’s fairness and the necessity of these tests. This is not strictly OT understanding either. EPH 3: 12, “In union with Christ and through our faith in Him, we have the boldness to go into God’s presence with all confidence.”
We also need to understand the sanctifying work of the Holy Spirit. This is seen in 2 THESS 2: 13, “We must thank God at all times for you, brothers, you whom the Lord loves. For God chose you as the first to be saved by the Spirit’s power to make you His holy people and by your faith in the truth.” [See also 1 PET 2: 9; 2 PET 2: 9-10]. Such faith does not arise by itself. Instead, it is usually the result of coming through some kind of strengthening challenge. In my own experience, it is exemplified by coming through 5 ½ hours of surgery in which I wasn’t expected to live, only to find out that God had protected me and called me to further ministry work. That experience changed my way of prioritizing too, for I came to realize that nothing is more important than my covenant relationship with the Lord and with others around me. In looking at the basics of sanctification [the process by which the Holy Spirit at the Lord’s direction tests our faith with challenges and thus purifies us and refines us, in preparation for that day when we will be called to His side to rule with Christ in heaven], we can begin with RO 8: 1-2. “There is no condemnation now for those who live in union with Christ Jesus. For the law of the Spirit , which brings us life in union with Christ Jesus has set me free from the Law of sin and death.” Consider the truth that because of Satan leading Adam and Eve to the original sin [GN 3: 1-6], that we were born with sin and were on a collision course with spiritual death, because of that combined with our propensity to sin due to our sinful nature. Now that’s a predicament! It is one that our loving Lord refuses to leave as the only choice humans had, so He obligated Himself to sinners [us]! By sending Christ, His only begotten Son to serve an earthly ministry and then give His physical life on the cross, God provided us with the only chance we have for salvation from certain spiritual death by having faith in the Son [JN 3 :16; RO 3: 24-25]. Still and all, we must make the choice to believe in Christ, Who is the “way, the truth, and the life” [JN 14 :6]. Moreover, the “only way to the Father is through Me” (meaning Christ).
It’s not enough to leave things at that, because we humans need a “how to.” That’s why RO 12: 1-2 is so important. “So then, my brothers, because of God’s great mercy to us I appeal to you: Offer yourselves as a living sacrifice to God, dedicated to His service and pleasing to Him. This is the true worship that you should offer. Do not conform yourselves to the standards of this world, but let God transform you inwardly by the complete renewal of your mind. Then, you will be able to know the will of God-what is good and is pleasing to Him and is perfect.” The meaning of this is straight forward. EPH 2: 8-10 further elaborates on what a blessing from God the ability to do this is- one we can’t take for granted or assume came from ourselves. We must live a life that is “in Christ.” COL 3: 1-4 further clarifies what is meant by this. “You have been raised to life with Christ, so set your hearts on the things that are in heaven, where Christ sits on His throne at the right side of God. Keep your minds fixed on things there, not on things here on hearth. For you have died and your life is hidden with Christ in God. Your real life is Christ and when He appears, then you too will appear with Him and share His glory.” This passage is worth some pondering over, as it takes the focus off materialism and other earthly sinful behavior and puts it on the Kingdom of God, that time and place where we can have true freedom from evildoing of any kind and spend our time in true worship of God in whatever forms into which He leads us.
PRAYER: Dearest Abba, we come before Your throne with heads bowed in reverence to You. There are times when we suffer during the trials You allow us to have. My suffering of late has been in needing to pray for so many people who are ill, particularly with cancer. It has hit close to home, in that one of our best friends has been diagnosed with stage 3 Mesothelioma, a cancer that arises out of prolonged exposure to Asbestos. We ask You to give us the right words to say, words that will comfort and uplift. We ask You to guide and direct us to behavior that will set an example of the inner peace that comes from being obediently faithful. You have told us, in PS 37: 23-24, “The steps of the godly are directed by the Lord. He delights in every details of their lives. Though they stumble, they will not fall, for the Lord holds them by the hand.” Please, Dearest Father, direct us in the course of working through our sanctification; direct those we love who are being challenged to take Your out-stretched hand. Let us prove to You that we can live “in Christ” and uplift the demeanors of others around us. You are a God, Who sets the paradigm for being faithful. HO 6: 3, “Let us acknowledge the Lord; let us press on to acknowledge Him. As surely as the sun rises, He will appear; He will come to us like the winter rains, like the spring rains that water the earth.” No drought lasts forever, unless mankind makes foolish decisions that aren’t in line with Your will. Our covenant relationship with You is sometimes complicated by emotions out of control, by humans taking rash actions, and by holding grudges, or by blaming You for our shortcomings. We know this, and You know it. And Yet, You continue to love us beyond what any human deserves. PS 94: 16-17, “When I said, ‘My foot is slipping,’ Your love, O Lord, supported me. When anxiety was great within me, Your consolations brought joy to my soul.” You are a great and wonderful God, Who sometimes works miracles, and other times chooses to encourage us through our trials. We praise and thank You for being our Covenant Partner, in Christ. Amen.
NEXT WEEK: Before we leave the subject of how God obligates Himself to sinners and why He allows adversity in our lives, we need to discuss the death of a believing loved one versus the death of one who is not a believer. This is a tough subject in my own life, since I come from a family of traditional Jews who have been taught to reject Christ. Perhaps, this is the test of my faith that God wants me to have to strengthen my faith. I’m virtually certain that each person reading this devotion has either had some experience with this problem or will have it. I don’t profess to have the last word on this issue, but feel it must be examined nonetheless. I have a belief that the Holy Spirit leads believers into uncomfortable places for God’s righteous reasons. He also supplies us with precious jewels in the form of God’s words that help us to learn what the Father wants us to know. Often, it’s about the Father’s deeds, but sometimes it’s about the Father’s own attributes or a combination of both that He wants us to see. If we will but open our minds and hearts to the leadership of the Holy Spirit, He will supply this important reconnaissance [essential knowledge and faith] to get us through a bump in that “hard road that we entered through a narrow gate” that leads us to eternal life with Him [MT 7: 13-14] . Praise, honor, glory, and thanks be to Him!
Grace Be With You Always,
Lynn
JS 24: 15